Position Summary:
Under the general supervision of the Clinical Nurse Manager, the Home Health Registered Nurse is responsible for providing quality home health services to clients referred to the agency. Through competent application of the nursing process and use of accepted best nursing practices, the RN provides and directs the provision of home health nursing care based on agency policies and procedures and state and federal mandates for a certified home health program.
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Reports To: Clinical Nurse Manager
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Responsibilities and Duties
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Make the initial evaluation visit to the patient and provides those services requiring substantial and specialized nursing skill in accordance with the plan of care, signed by the physician.
- Demonstrates competency in all nursing skills required by the client
- Evaluates and regularly re-evaluates the nursing needs of the patient; initiates, develops, implements and makes necessary revision to the patient’s plan of care. Assesses the patient’s continual care needs. Addresses all problems identified in the comprehensive assessment in the plan of care or provides evidence of a rationale for not doing so.
- Observes signs and symptoms and reports changes in the patient’s condition to the physician and/or other appropriate health professionals as often as needed.
- Teaches, supervises and counsels patients and family regarding home health nursing procedures and other care needs as appropriate to the patient’s conditions. Utilizes educational materials as appropriate.
- Coordinates the plan of care and maintains continuity of patient care by acting as liaison with other health professionals assigned to the same patients.
- Participates in all aspects of care, including an ongoing multidisciplinary evaluation and development of the plan of care. Initiates patients care conferences for complex and/or multidisciplinary patients whenever needed or helpful to ensure good coordination of care.
- Supervises and teaches home health aide and Licensed Practical Nurse per policies; assesses patient’s need for unskilled care and revises plan of care as appropriate. Communicates plan of care changes to aide, LPN and scheduler as necessary.
- Develops, prepares and maintains individualized patient care clinical records with accuracy, timeliness and according to policies. Submits accurate documentation per home health policies.
- Responsible for following all policies and procedures of the agency regarding service delivery, documentation and care coordination. During supervisory visits, exhibits full compliance and control, management of hazardous wastes and age-specific behaviors for patients.
- Responsible for keeping current in nursing trends and knowledge. Participates in in-service programs and continuing educational offerings.
- Actively participates and is involved in the agency’s quality improvement program.
MINIMUM TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED TO PERFORM ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
- State licensure as a Registered Nurse. Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing preferred but not required
- Satisfactory completion of an accredited course of study
- Must be able to demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to provide care to clients of all ages.
- Must be able to demonstrate knowledge of the principles of growth and development over the life span.
- Must be able to assess data reflective of a patient’s status and interpret the appropriate information needed to identify each patient’s requirements relative to his/her age-specific needs and arrive at a course of action in collaboration with other health care team members.
- Must be able to demonstrate an ability to work in a team oriented environment.
- Must be knowledgeable about the theories of evidence-based practice and demonstrate this in making care decisions.
Key Skills
Language Ability and Interpersonal Communication: Proficient in client interaction, nursing assessments and care plans, interventions and patient responses; ability to express ideas effectively, orally and in writing in order to persuade, interpret and inform; supervisory skills in planning, assigning, directing and evaluating work. Identify attitudes and problems of the elderly, poor, disadvantaged or culturally deprived. Identify nursing implications of clients with physical or mental illness..
Required Experience and Qualifications
Required 2 - 5 years of experienced RN Certified Nurses